The Unexpected Dream
by chm36
Summary: A 16 year old girl named Ingrid fell asleep one day, then woke up in Middle-Earth. She has been chosen to help in a perilous journey, and maybe she'll even find love on the way. All things may not work out the way she has always wanted it to, but that could be perfectly fine with her.
1. Chapter 1

I was finishing up my homework for the night. I had to do a book report on my favourite childhood story, so I did "The Hobbit". I had originally read it when I was in the eighth grade, and I loved it. All of my friends had read it when I told them about it,but they hadn't liked it as much as me. I was putting all of my homework away when my mom knocked on the door.

"You're going to bed soon, right?" She said holding onto the doorknob and peeking in.

"Yeah, I'm going soon." Yeah right.

"Don't stay up very much longer, you have volleyball in the morning." My mom was always like this, telling me things I already know.

I got ready, then I got into bed. I was lying there with my covers wrapped around me like a cocoon when I started to think. What if I was in the company to go to Erebor? I had wished that I was so many times before, but this time there was a strange feeling when I did. It felt like I had gone, I recognized the feeling almost. It was strange. I shrugged it off, rolled over and tried to fall asleep.

When I finally fell asleep I started to have a very vivid, almost real dream. I was walking through an empty field that had trees double the size of the ones in my neighbourhood, when an older looking man in grey robes and a pointy hat was walking towards me. He walked slowly and like he was almost happy to see me. He had a beard, one that almost looked like Gandalf's from The Hobbit. He had a look to him that was kind and friendly, so I wasn't very scared. I was more focused on figuring out where I was. The old man reached the spot I was standing. I didn't move, I don't know where I would go. The man reached out to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Ah, here you are. If you had come later then we would have to start without you." He said smiling.

"What are you talking about? Where am I?" I snapped at him.

"You are in Middle-Earth, and you are here to help with a very important journey. My name is Gandalf the Grey, and if I am correct you already know who I am." So I was in Middle-Earth. This was Gandalf, and I am in my favourite fictional world, with my favourite fictional people.

He said I was here to help, and he was Gandalf the Grey not Gandalf the White, so I must be helping with the journey to Erebor. I got so excited once I figured that out I almost squealed.

"So I'm here to help?" I asked eagerly.

"Come walk with me, I shall explain it all." He motioned towards what looked like a small river on the side of the field. I started to walk with him. I listened to what he was saying, even though I already know it all. Gandalf was explaining why we were going to Erebor, who would be coming, and what we would do once we got there. I had read The Hobbit so many times I couldn't remember, and he could tell. Gandalf finished explaining.

"I guess you already knew that though, didn't you?" He said with a smile. I nodded eagerly.

"Well, all we need to do now is get our burglar and meet the company." I practically ran ahead, going down to the river. Across the water was the Shire, and at the very top of Hill was Bilbo Baggin's hole in the ground. I went across the bridge and into the bright green grass of the Shire, laughing and smiling. I was so happy, I get to go on the greatest adventure I had ever heard about. But there was still one small problem. I turned to Gandalf, my smile gone.

"But this is a dream. It has to end eventually, right?" I asked.


	2. Chapter 2

I stood for a while, waiting for Gandalf to reach me. I had just realized that maybe, just maybe, I will never wake up. What if I never get to see my mother again? Do I have to stay here forever? Suddenly I was scared. Standing on those green hills of the Shire, I realized that I probably have a reason for coming here, I couldn't have just come here out of the blue like this. I had already guessed that I was here to help, but Gandalf hadn't really answered.

"You will eventually wake up, but only when your task is finished." Gandalf said slowly.

"Well, what's my task?" I asked, getting impatient.

"You need to keep Thorin and his nephews alive in the Battle of the Five Armies." He stated this like it was nothing, something that was easy to accomplish. He continued.

"You see Ingrid, you have a certain fate in this world with one of them, and a strong bond with the other two. That fate I am not sure of yet, but will only be sure once you meet them." Gandalf stated.

I felt like I was tide down. I couldn't get out of this, and "this" was a task that I have no idea how I would do it. I have no skills in fighting, I'm not very clever, and I'm really clumsy. How I was going to keep 3 people I would come to care about alive is something I would probably never figure out until the time had also said something about some sort of bond with one of them, and that could be risky. What if I do bond closely with one of them, but end up not being able to keep him alive?

"Gandalf, I have no skills to prepare myself with for this. I can't fight, I'm not very smart and I usually don't do anything right. I'll probably screw it up." I said, looking down at the soft grass by my feet.

"My dear girl, you shall do it just fine. This is why you were chosen, because when the time comes you will be a changed person, and you will be able to do it. You are a caring person, and whoever it may be that gets that bond will be lucky. It could be Thorin, Fili, or Kili. But all of that is up to you."

"What's all this about me having a special "bond" with one of them?" I said, using my fingers as quotation marks. I wasn't sure about having a bond with someone who could potentially die, or at least having any bond at all. I was sixteen, I've never even had a friend that was a boy before.

"You will most likely fall in love with one of them." He stated blankly.

"Do you know which one?"

"No, no. You get to decide that one." Oh that's just great, I thought. I have to fall in love with one of them. This gave me a lot of anxiety for the night to come, I knew we were going to Bilbo's tonight. I would meet them, and probably get super nervous and wreck everything. I don't know what I would wear, I have nothing to change into and I'm in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Well, what should I wear? I don't think they would understand all of this." I said motioning to my pants.

"No, I don't suppose so. We can fix that." Gandalf said. He led me to a little shop on the side of the little road. There a kind little hobbit gave me a dress and some new shoes. He stared at my old clothes with a peculiar look on his face, but never asked.

* * *

The sky was getting dark, and day was turning into night. Gandalf led me to the highest Hill, and there Bilbo's hole in the ground was. He knocked on the door a couple quick times, and took a step back.

"- in very poor taste." He finished, opening the little round door.

"Gandalf." He walked into the little hobbit hole and immediately heard noise coming from the room to the side of the door. Food was getting thrown about, dwarves were singing and a very disgruntled Bilbo was running around, trying to get them to stop.

"- that's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" They finished their song and started laughing. They noticed me and Gandalf standing and watching, and they gathered around. It was weird seeing them in person and not reading them, I thought. They started introducing themselves to me, all smiling and happy. I met Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Ori, Dori, Nori, Balin and Dwalin.

The last dwarves to introduce themselves looked a bit younger than the rest. One had dark brown hair, brown eyes that had a sort of wild gleam to them, and dark brown stubble. I noticed he was the only one without a beard. The second brother looked totally different than the first. He had long blond hair that looked a little rough, a blond beard that was braided on either side of his mouth, and his eyes were a blueish-green. His eyes, I thought. They were captivating. Gentle but still strong, I found myself looking into them for a long time, probably too long. But then he spoke up, surprising me. I jumped a little.

"Fili."

"And Kili. At your service." They said the last part together, doing a small bow. I blushed insanely, they were both so _attractive_.I put the names with the faces and I figured out the handsome blond one was Fili. His eyes lingered on me for a while, noticing how embarrassed I was. I blush to easily, I thought.

"And you are...?" He asked expectantly, a little shy.

"Ingrid." I almost slurred.

"Lovely to meet you, lass." Kili said. Fili looked at me and nodded. Then he and Kili returned to the table with the rest of the Company. I looked up to Gandalf.

"Are you sure which one yet?" I asked hopefully. I still had to meet Thorin though. Gandalf just shook his head and went over to the table of dwarves.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a sudden knocking on the door and Gandalf looked up.

"He's here." He said solemnly looking up. Bilbo went to go answer the door and all of the dwarves gathered around. This must be the oh-so-magnificent Thorin that they were talking about, one of the ones I could potentially love. Bilbo opened the door, and there he stood. He was tall (for a dwarf) and proud, and the way he stood just screamed authority.

"Gandalf, I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice." He said, handing his coat rather rudely to a very disgruntled Bilbo. He looked at Fili and Kili and smiled. Then he turned his attention towards me.

"Who is this?" He asked. Stepping in front of me he was an inch or two taller than me. And I was supposed to be the tall one, being you know, _human. _I am doubting that though, I seem to have gotten shorter and a little more sturdy. Maybe I was a dwarf now.

"Ingrid." I sounded confident, but I was just a mess in my head.

"So, Ingrid, why are you here?" Thorin asked coolly. In all of the fan fictions that I had read, they made him out to be a snobby old prick. He wasn't as bad as I thought he was going to be.

"She is here to assist us on our journey." Gandalf stated. At this you could see the anger rising in Thorin.

"I didn't know that there was going to be a _woman _on the quest. Why didn't I know?" He asked. I could now see that there actually was a little bit of an ass inside of him.

"As I said, she is going to be helping us. I was the one who brought her here." I turned to Gandalf with a cocked eyebrow that said "_really?"_. Obviously he had understood, he nodded slowly. Thorin seemed less interested now, and turned towards Bilbo.

He started circling around the poor little hobbit, sizing him up. "So this is the hobbit."

"Tell me, what is your weapon of choice? Axe or sword?"

"Well, I do have a knack for conkers, but I hardly see how that's relevant." He mumbled.

"He seems more like a grocer than a burglar." Thorin said. The rest of the company laughed. I felt bad for Bilbo.

Thorin turned away from Bilbo and went into the kitchen where there was a bowl of soup sitting out from before. The company gathered around him at the table and started to talk about the journey that they would be going on. Bofur was always said to be the kind and silly one, so I sat near him hoping that he would be welcoming and friendly. I had also ended up beside Fili with Kili on his other side.

Gandalf and the dwarves had started to talk about the journey when Fili leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"So, what brings you on this quest to reclaim our home?" He asked giving me a cheeky look.

"Gandalf asked me to." I turned my head to look at him, keeping a straight face.

Fili just continued, grinning widely at me and raising his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Mhm." I nodded, this time giving him a small smile.

"Is that all you're going to tell me? Please tell me there's more." He asked hopefully.

"That's it. That's the whole story. Exciting, isn't it?" I said sarcastically.

"I'm surprised. I would have thought there would have been more." I couldn't help but look at the twinkle his eyes he had when he smiled. Fili turned back to the conversation and started to listen in again, and I looked around to the other dwarves. Thorin and Gandalf were getting into an argument about something, when Gandalf stood up and there was a shadow cast across the room.

I started to listen, and it was about how Bilbo would do as the Company's burglar. Oh, they have no idea.

When I was fully was on top of what they were talking about I heard Bofur speak up across the room to Bilbo, who was holding a long piece of paper.

"Aye, will melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." It sounded like he was trying to encourage him. Bilbo was white as a sheet, I don't think it was working very well. He tried to stay up, but eventually he gave up and toppled over.

"Very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf said, scorning him. Bofur just shrugged and sat back down. Gandalf lifted up Bilbo and took him into the next room, and the dwarves moved into the room next to that one.

…..

I didn't feel like I should join all of the dwarves, I didn't know any of them. I stuck around with Gandalf for a bit when we heard the sound of the Company singing a song about their old home, Erebor. Thorin had started the song, then all of the dwarves joined in. Bilbo, Gandalf and I had just sat and listened, not wanting to disturb them.

Just as they finished I went through the front door and out into Bilbo's yard. I went to the gate, and I started to think about the beautiful scenery in front of me. There was a large pond down the way by the path, with the bridge that Gandalf and I went across. All of the other hobbit holes were dark, sometimes with a lamp out front of the door. It was beautiful to see, all of these homes were magnificent.

It was dark outside, and so there was not a lot to get the full effect of seeing. I walked back and to the bench behind me, and I sat down and looked at the stars. My mind wandered to my home on Earth. What would my mother think when she didn't find me in bed the next morning? My body might even still be there, seeing as this is a "dream". I don't believe a word of that, this seems too real. I closed my eyes, and tried to get these thoughts out of my mind. I shouldn't worry about it.

What seemed to me like half an hour (but was really only a couple of minutes) I felt a presence beside me on that small bench.

"Go away Gandalf, I'm trying to rest here." I said, my eyes still closed.

I didn't get an answer, just a small chuckle from next to me. My eyes snapped open. Fili and Kili were both sitting beside me, smiling. Fili was on my right, Kili on my left.

"So, resting out here on a bench in the night? Doesn't seem to comfortable to me." Kili said smiling.

I blushed madly. I'm so glad it's dark out. "Sorry, I thought you were Gandalf." I said quietly to them, sitting up on the bench.

"So, Fili was telling me you have no story whatsoever, but I'm finding that a little hard to believe. Everyone has a story. I will not pry, but you are new and we are curious." He said. Fili nodded. I had felt so confident with Fili earlier, but I could tell that that confidence was not here anymore.

"It's not very exciting." It may not have been exciting, but it was complicated.

"Well, neither are we but you still want to know us." Fili said, flashing me a cheeky wink. I was _so _happy it was dark. My face was probably the same colour as a tomato.

I shrugged. "I just kind of ended up here. Gandalf wanted me to come, so I came. There really isn't much to tell."

"We know you aren't from here, your whole attitude and way of speaking is different." Huh. I didn't think of that. I didn't realize that they would be able to tell by my speech, I didn't think it was that different. That was a lot of didn'ts. Since apparently they are going to figure it out anyway, why not tell them of my home?

"Ok, but I'm not sure how everyone else will take it, so I won't tell them unless they ask. But since you lot asked so nicely" I smirked while I said this, "I will tell you now."

They smiled at me, and gave each other excited looks.

"I grew up in a place called England. It's kind of like Middle-Earth, we have different areas with different names. In England I was from a place called London. My mother and I lived kind of on the outside of the city. I went to bed one night and stayed awake for a while more than usual. I thought I woke up a while later, but I was on grass. I got up and I met Gandalf. That's when he told me about what I'm here for-"

"What are you here for?" Fili interrupted.

I don't think I should have said that, and I don't think they would take kindly to me saying that I was here to save them- and potentially love one of them. So I won't tell.

"I'm here to help you guys get to the mountain safely." Kind of the truth, kind of a lie. "After I met Gandalf he got me new clothes and we came here. Then I met all of you." When I finished they were staring intently at me, elbows on their knees and head in their hands.

"That is an odd story, never heard something like that." Kili said sitting up. There was a bit of a silence, they were taking in my story. I don't think I did very well explaining it, though. Fili and Kili stood up from their seats on the bench and faced me.

"Come on lass, don't want you sleeping while we're on the road tomorrow." Fili offered his hand to me to help me up. I took it and got up from the bench, and we all went inside.

We walked into the front hall and looked into the room to the left. All of the dwarves were asleep on couches or chairs, some were even on the floor. Fili and Kili turned to me and said goodnight. When Kili went into the room, Fili stayed in the hall with me. He put his hands into the large pockets in the front of his coat.

"We didn't know that there was going to be another person coming on the journey, so we don't have enough ponies." He stepped just the smallest bit closer. I hadn't even realized he was taller than me until now. "So, you will have to ride with me." He said, looking down at me.

"Oh, ok. Sorry about that." I said softly. I truly feel bad about him having to give up space on his own pony so I wouldn't have walk or anything. But it was a nice gesture.

"It really doesn't matter. If you walk you will not keep up." He looked at me. "Goodnight, Ingrid."

"'Night." I nodded at him. He turned and went into the room after his brother.

I walked back into a room to the right of the hall. None of the dwarves are in this room, so I'm going to sleep here. Don't know them, don't want to sleep around them yet. I took of the clothes from earlier and I was just in my undershirt and underwear. I slipped into the bed to the side of the room and I immediately fell asleep. I fell asleep thinking about how tomorrow was going to go.


End file.
